Weighted cohomology of arithmetic groups (Q1808855)

Let \(\mathbb{G}\) be a semisimple algebraic group defined over the rational numbers, \(K\) a maximal compact subgroup of \(G=\mathbb{G}(\mathbb{R})\), and \(\Gamma\subset \mathbb{G}(\mathbb{Q})\) a neat arithmetic subgroup. Let \(X =\Gamma\setminus G/K\) be the locally symmetric space associated to \(\Gamma\), and \(\mathbb{E}\) the local system on \(X\) constructed out of a finite-dimensional, irreducible, algebraic representation \(E\) of \(\mathbb{G}\). Weighted cohomology is an invariant of \(\Gamma\) introduced by \textit{M. Goresky, G. Harder}, and \textit{R. MacPherson} [Invent. Math. 116, 139-213 (1994; Zbl 0849.11047)] in the study of the trace of Hecke operators in the cohomology of \(\Gamma\). For each \(p\in X^*(A)\otimes\mathbb{Q}\) there are weight profiles \(\overline{p}\) and \(\underline{p}\) and groups \(W^{\overline{p}}H^i(\Gamma,E)\) and \(W^{\underline{p}} H^i(\Gamma,E)\). Let the space \(X\) be a Riemannian manifold, a complete metric coming from an invariant metric on \(G/K\). There is a natural choice of inner product on \(E\) metrizing \(\mathbb{E}\). For each \(\lambda\in{\mathfrak A}^*= X^*(A)\otimes\mathbb{R}\), \textit{J. Franke} [Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér. (4) 31, 181-279 (1998; Zbl 0938.11026)] has defined weighted \(L^2\) cohomology groups via complexes of forms on \(X\) satisfying certain square-integrability conditions given by \(\lambda\). For very positive \(\lambda\) these give the full cohomology \(H^i(X,\mathbb{E})\) and for very negative \(\lambda\) they give \(H^i_c(X,\mathbb{E})\). The definition of these groups involves a little reduction theory. The main theorem is that these two cohomology theories are the same: Theorem A. Let \(\lambda = -p -\rho_0\). There are natural isomorphisms \[ \begin{aligned} & W^{\overline{p}}H^i(\Gamma,E)\simeq H^i_{\lambda-\log}(X,\mathbb{E}),\\ & W^{\underline{p}}H^i(\Gamma,E)\simeq H^i_{\lambda+\log}(X,\mathbb{E}).\end{aligned} \] The two assertions are equivalent by duality. Consider the space \(S_{\lambda-\log}(\Gamma\setminus G)\) (resp. \(S_{\lambda+\log}(\Gamma\setminus G))\) of smooth complex-valued functions \(f\) on \(\Gamma\setminus G\) such that, for all \(j\geq 0\) (resp. some \(j\leq 0\)), \[ w_\lambda\log (w_\varepsilon)^j R_Df\text{ is square-integrable} \] for every operator \(D\) in the universal enveloping algebra of \({\mathfrak G} =\text{Lie}(G)\). They are \(({\mathfrak G},K)\)-modules. A theorem of Franke computes \(H^i_{\lambda\pm\log}(X,\mathbb{E})\) in terms of \(S_{\lambda\pm\log}(\Gamma\setminus G)\), and so Theorem A is equivalent to: Corollary A. Let \(\lambda = -p -\rho_0\). There are natural isomorphisms \[ \begin{aligned} & W^{\overline{p}}H^i(\Gamma,E)\simeq H^i_{{\mathfrak G},K} (S_{\lambda-\log}(\Gamma\setminus G)\otimes E),\\ & W^{\underline{p}}H^i(\Gamma,E)\simeq H^i_{{\mathfrak G},K} (S_{\lambda+\log}(\Gamma\setminus G)\otimes E).\end{aligned} \] There are two special profiles, upper middle \(\mu = \overline{-\rho_0}\) and lower middle \(\nu= \underline{-\rho_0}\). They are dual to each other. Theorem A says that \(W^\mu H^i(\Gamma,E)\simeq H^i_{(2)-\log}(X,\mathbb{E})\) and \(W^\nu H^i(\Gamma,E)\simeq H^i_{(2)+\log}(X, \mathbb{E}).\) The relation of \(H^i_{(2)\pm\log}(X,\mathbb{E})\) to the usual \(L^2\) cohomology is given by: Theorem B. If the ranks of \(G\) and \(K\) are equal then \[ H^i_{(2)-\log}(X,\mathbb{E})\simeq H^i_{(2)}(X, \mathbb{E})\simeq H^i_{(2)+\log}(X,\mathbb{E}). \] In fact this holds under a slightly more general condition from \textit{A. Borel} and \textit{W. Casselman} [Duke Math. J. 50, 625-647 (1983; Zbl 0528.22012)]. Theorems A and B imply: Corollary B. If the ranks of \(G\) and \(K\) are equal then \[ W^\mu H^i(\Gamma,E)\simeq H^i_{(2)}(X,\mathbb{E})\simeq W^\nu H^i(\Gamma,E). \] This corollary is related to Zucker's conjecture (a theorem thanks to Looijenga and Saper-Stern). Suppose that \(X\) is Hermitian and \(\widehat{X}\) is its Baily-Borel Satake compactification; \(\widehat{X}\) is a complex projective variety. A theorem of Goresky-Harder-MacPherson says that \(W^\mu H^i(\Gamma,E)\) and \(W^\nu H^i(\Gamma,E)\) are isomorphic to the intersection cohomology \(IH^i(\widehat{X},\mathbb{E})\). The corollary then implies Zucker's conjecture. The proof of Theorem A has three steps. The first step is the equivalence with Corollary A (due to Franke) and is dealt with in Section 1. The second step is to show that there is an inclusion \({\mathbf W}^{\overline{p}}{\mathbf C}^\bullet(\mathbb{E})\hookrightarrow{\mathbf S}^\bullet_{\lambda-\log}(\mathbb{E})\) for \(\lambda =-p -\rho_0\). The final step is to show that this inclusion is a quasi-isomorphism via a local calculation on \(\overline{X}\). There are two key points here: Proposition 3.2 (reduction to the space of \(N_P\)-invariants of \({\mathbf S}^\bullet_{\lambda-\log}(\mathbb{E})\) over neighbourhoods of boundary points, (a version of) an idea that goes back to van Est) and Lemma 3.5 (where the logarithmic terms in (*) become essential). In Section 0, for the reader's convenience, the proof of Theorem A is sketched in the simplest possible case, namely when \(\mathbb{G}= \text{SL}(2)\) and \(E\) is trivial. The proof of Theorem B, which is global and independent of the previous sections, is in Section 4 and uses results of Franke and Borel-Casselman [loc. cit.] and standard Lie algebra cohomology arguments. The final section (\S 5) contains applications and several comments on relations to other work and on generalizations.